22:1-2 Josiah is eight years old as he becomes king of Judah. Born to Jedidah and Amon, Josiah chooses to live as a righteous child of God. Josiah has a naturally good and genuine heart even though he is the product of a corrupt king. Josiah is described as being a straightforward person, much like his ancestor King David. Josiah has not been raised around the word of God and yet he has a kind and righteous soul.
22:3-7 Josiah turns eighteen, the age of adulthood and he begins to make the decisions which will determine what kind of man he is. It becomes Josiah's motivation to restore the House of the Lord and to provide for the faithful laborers of the work. This presents an opportunity for each of us to ask ourselves: What am I doing for the House of the Lord? Do I restore, uphold or destroy?
The House of the Lord is more than a physical establishment. Through our faith we uphold the pillars and foundation of a lifestyle of righteousness, justice and compassion. Many kings reign in scripture and in our world today; their impact on the people they are responsible for through their position is their impact on the House of the Lord. Though we and they, may not always be conscious of our responsibility, we each make either an addition or a subtraction.
As Jesus says in Matthew 12:30, if we are not with Him, we are against Him. Neutrality is not an option: not when people's lives are at stake. Josiah makes the decision to add to the House of the Lord, the replace what corruption has stolen from it and to restore the places evil has corroded. The House of the Lord is a symbol, then and now, for that status of our relationship - individual and collective - with God. What are our efforts in life maintaining? Status quo? Neutrality. A selfish lifestyle? Subtraction. The House of the Lord? Addition.
Josiah adequately supports the faithful restorers and so will God. God will ensure that you are provided for. He will ensure that you have the means, material and might to accomplish your addition, your purpose and impact in life. Can you be trusted as these people were? A righteous heart is given free reign by God. If God can trust you, you will be entrusted quite a lot; He will not need to monitor your choices because He will know that your heart is good.
22:8-10 Hilkiah the high priest finds the Book of the Law in the House of the Lord. Judah has so thoroughly neglected God that this book which was intended as a beacon has to be discovered. It had to be drawn up, excavated as if it were a fossil.
It is all the more exciting, impressive and blessed that Josiah would restore this temple: his good heart initiated the actions that would restore the word of God. This is what it means to know and be known by God. Josiah is righteous because it is just and God will always connect with such natural goodness.
The books of Kings give us perspective we cannot see from our own lives. Through the transitions of kings on the throne, we are able to see generations pass and alter. We are able to see the difference between righteous leadership and corrupt leadership: peace and prosperity and corruption and desolation, respectively. We are able to see that selfish, corrupt motivations yield despair and calamity while selfless, righteous motivations yield joy and prosperity.
To allow the word of God, the Bible, to become an artifact in our lives is to ourselves become irrelevant. Without its wisdom and direction, the world is populated by only very few truly righteous souls. And corrupt souls are irrelevant because they are expiring and destruction leaves no legacy.
22:11-12 Josiah is read the Book of the Law and is stunned into despair. As he considers the state of the kingdom in comparison to the state it should be in according to this book, he realizes just how wayward Judah has gone. God is clear and concise about His plans to deal with and discipline corruption. Josiah is cognizant enough to know that God's warnings have now become Judah's reality.
22:13 On behalf of himself and the people of Judah, king Josiah sends Hilkiah to consult a prophet of God. Josiah astutely realizes that their situation will imminently be dealt with and he wishes to be further informed. It becomes imperative that God is finally brought into the situation.
Recognize our gift! We are able to consult God on personal and public matters in an intimate way. The messiah delivered the temple of God within us. Because of his kingdom's corrupt and his father's neglect to lead his son to God, Josiah must consult a person who has maintained their relationship with God.
22:14-17 Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah meet with Huldah the prophetess. Huldah delivers God's message for Josiah:
“Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read— because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’”’God explains that Josiah has discerned correctly: Judah's discipline is near and fierce but most importantly, deserved and necessary.
22:18-20 The aforementioned message from God is intended for the evil within Judah. God has a message for Josiah himself, who has lived righteously and sought God earnestly:
But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard—because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord. “Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.”’” So they brought back word to the king.
The righteous, Josiah specifically in this instance, are spared. The righteous are spared the hot discipline for the evil because they do not need it; they have found their way to righteousness, if not perfection, without committing corruption. None of us are perfect. All of us, even Josiah, can benefit from tweaks and alignments made by God - minor and major. But when God pours His wrath out on evil, it does not scorch the imperfect.
